English Political Traditions

1. English Political Traditions What aspects of the English government do we use in the US today?

2. Absolute Monarchy Queen Elizabeth King William the Conqueror King Henry 1 England was an absolute monarchy. This meant that their kings and queens had UNLIMITED power over the English people.

3. The Magna Carta • King John I was forced to sign • Guaranteed certain rights to the citizens of England.

4. The Magna Carta • Important rights established by the document and adopted by the US government include: 1. Accused people are guaranteed a trial with a jury. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty. 2. All citizens are guaranteed justice 3. All citizens, regardless of class, must follow the same laws and will be punished in the same way if they break a law.

5. The Parliament • The Parliament: Originally a group of advisors to the monarch, the Parliament slowly took on more and more power. Today the Parliament has all powers of government in England.

6. Road to a Glorious Revolution Parliament After a transfer of power to William and Mary there was a peaceful time called the Glorious Revolution. From this time on no ruler would have more power than Parliament.

7. 1689 • Parliament wrote the • English Bill of Rights • Free election to Parliament • Right to a fair trial • elimination of cruel and unusual punishments

8. British Common Law • Courts’ decisions became the basis of law • When the judges would look to decide cases, they would look for a PRECEDENT, or a ruling in an earlier case that was similar.

9. Road to Self Government House of Burgesses Fundamental Order of Connecticut Salutary neglect Mayflower Compact

10. Jamestown 1612 After the establishment of Jamestown the 1st legislature was created. It was called the House of Burgesses.

11. Mayflower Compact Pact to have a direct democracy. • Town hall meetings • Local town government

12. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut 1639 In Connecticut the first constitution was written called the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut It stated: That the assembly of elected representatives from each town to make laws. There would be a popular election of a governor and judges

13. Salutary Neglect Separated by more than 3000 miles, Great Britain still had loose control over the colonies which they called salutary neglect. The colonies were self governing and taking care of their own problems while England was focused on problems in England.

14. Enlightenment Philosophy • The Enlightenment was a time when people in Europe began to question the traditional ideas about government and power, and came up with new ideas about who should be involved in government.

15. John Locke • The most important Enlightenment philosopher in the design of the government of the United States. • Natural Rights • “life, liberty, and property” • Social Contract

16. The Social Contract Theory

17. Enlightenment Philosophers • Thomas Hobbes- man's natural state is anti-social, and that moral rules are created to avoid chaos

18. Montesquieu and Rousseau • Baron de Montesquieu: Separation of Power  powers of government should be divided into branches (Legislative Branch: Makes Laws; Executive Branch: Enforces Laws; Judicial Branch: Interprets Laws) • Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “All Men Are Created Equal”

19. Social Contract Theory • Create a Social Contract for the United States. You can include rules that are included at Middle Creek High School. • You must list at least 10.